For many Pokemon players, shiny Pokemon are the ultimate goals of catching 'em all: ultra-rare recolours of every species in the game, accounting for just one among thousands of a particular Pokemon. This world of shiny hunting can be daunting. However, Pokemon is a massive series spanning dozens of games, and there are countless locations and methods to consider when choosing a hunt, on top of deciding what critter to go for in the first place.

Nonetheless, for every grueling hundred-hour hunt, there's something far more relaxed, allowing you to just switch off, encounter some Pokemon, and come away with a cool shiny. Here are 10 hunts that would make excellent introductions to shiny hunting, or just a nice calm mission for any shiny hunters looking to take it easy.

10 HeartGold & SoulSilver's Starter Pokemon

Pokemon Heartgold Soulsilver Johto Starters Shiny Cyndaquil

Cyndaquil, Totodile, and Chikorita are the adorable trio that makes up Johto's Starter Pokemon, and just like in every other Pokemon game, it's common practice among shiny hunters to look for a shiny by soft resetting — saving before picking a Starter, seeing if your choice is shiny, and reloading the save if it's not.

What sets the Johto trio apart in HeartGold and SoulSilver is that any shinies will appear as such on the Starter selection screen (as pictured). This allows hunters to see three Pokemon per soft reset, essentially dividing the average time to find a shiny by three — a fantastic hunt to start out with.

9 Ditto in Pokemon Red or Blue

Pokemon Shiny Ditto Generation 1 Double Mimic Trick

This one is a little confusing, but it nets you a guaranteed shiny. In Generation 1, there were no shiny Pokemon. In Generation 2, however, a Pokemon's shininess was determined by its IVs, so it's possible for a Gen 1 Pokemon to become shiny upon transfer to a Gen 2 game.

In Red or Blue, get a Pokemon you know to have shiny IVs and make its only move Mimic. When you battle a wild Ditto, it will ultimately use Transform twice, and because of Gen 1's notorious bugs, the Ditto will then permanently copy your Pokemon's IVs, making it shiny once it's been caught and transferred to Gen 2. And yes, this trick works in the Virtual Console versions of all these games.

8 Any Pokemon in The Let's Go Games

Pokemon Shiny Hunting Let's Go Pikachu Eevee

Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee were a blessing for shiny hunters, as they came with a fantastic method for increasing shiny odds: the catch combo. Catch enough of any one Pokemon in a row, and that species' shiny odds will be lowered to just one in a few hundred. On top of this, shinies appear as shiny in the overworld, so they're much quicker to spot.

This is also a good time to mention the shiny charm. C atch all the Pokemon in these game's National Dex and you'll earn a charm that permanently improves your shiny odds.

7 Pokemon From SOS Calls

Pokemon Shiny Hunting Sun and Moon SOS Call Corsola

When battling wild Pokemon in the Alola region, there's a chance they'll call for help, causing ally Pokemon to show up. Knocking out several allies in a row will cause more and more of the ally species to arrive, and the shiny odds will improve as the chain gets higher and higher.

The simplicity and speed of this make it a fantastic hunting method; if there's a shiny you like the look of, give some SOS hunting a go and, if you're lucky, you'll have the special rare Pokemon in no time.

6 Pokemon You Find in Horde Battles

Pokemon Shiny Hunting Horde Battles Aron

In the Generation 6 games, it's possible to encounter wild Pokemon as hordes: five at a time instead of the regular one. There's no change to the shiny odds, but encountering five pokemon at the speed you'd ordinarily see one has the exact effect you'd expect on hunting speed — it quintuples.

There's a whole host of Pokemon that can be encountered in hordes between X & Y and ORAS, so it's definitely a great option if you're in the mood for some speedy encounters.

5 Ultra Wormhole Pokemon

Pokemon Ultra Sun and Moon Ultra Wormhole Shiny Hunting

Ultra Wormholes are a fun minigame to find Legendary Pokemon, but what many players don't know is that once all the Legendaries have been caught, the Wormholes hold other species of Pokemon. And in the right size of Wormhole, the right distance away, these other species can have shiny odds as good as 1 in 3.

Pairing fun gameplay with great shiny odds is a fantastic combination (one also employed by Sword & Shield's Dynamax Adventures), so for someone looking to get into shiny hunting, Ultra Wormholes are a great place to start.

4 The Current Pokemon in Wild Area News Raids

Pokemon Shiny Hunting Wild Area News Magikarp

Sword & Shield's Wild Area Raid dens are a whole lot of fun, and from time to time, the Wild Area News brings reports of certain Pokemon appearing more frequently in the dens. Often, these Pokemon can have massively boosted shiny odds, making them a fun and easy way to grab a shiny or two.

Past examples include Magikarp, Wailord, and Wooloo, so if you're into the idea of some laid-back shiny hunting, keep an eye out for the next Wild Area News announcement.

Pokemon Go Shiny Hunting Eevee Community Day

Anyone who's attended a Pokemon Go Community Day will know about the shinies. Community Day Pokemon get huge boosts to both their spawn rates and shiny odds, so shinies are easy and fast to encounter and catch. In fact, it's not uncommon for players to finish a Community Day with dozens of shinies.

Pokemon Go was sensational at its launch and has only improved in the years since, so it's easy to see the appeal. Look out for the announcements about the next Community Day, and if you attend, you're almost certain to come away with some special Pokemon.

2 The Dragons in Black 2 & White 2

Pokemon Black 2 White 2 Shiny Haxorus Nature Preserve

To call this entry (and the next one) shiny "hunts" might be a stretch, but for someone who just wants a cool recoloured Pokemon, here's the answer. In Pokemon Black 2 & White 2, if you see every Pokemon in Unova's Pokedex, you'll be granted access to the Nature Preserve, where you can find a guaranteed shiny Haxorus.

It doesn't stop there; in the same games, you can get a shiny Gible (Black 2) or Dratini (White 2) for defeating the postgame's battle tower. These games have been the only mainline ones so far to give shinies as rewards like this, and they're certainly generous prizes.

1 The Red Gyarados in the Lake of Rage

Pokemon Shiny Hunting Red Gyarados Johto Lake of Rage

Even easier to find than Unova's dragons, the shiny Gyarados in the Johto games actually has to be encountered as part of the story. Generation 2 (Johto's debut) introduced shinies, so the Gyarados served as a way to establish the idea to players. Additionally, if caught in Gold, Silver, or Crystal, this Gyarados makes a fantastic candidate for the aforementioned Gen 1 Ditto trick; you'll know it's shiny, and Generation 2 was (uniquely) backward compatible with Red, Blue, and Yellow.

Whether you're new to shiny hunting or not, Johto is a fantastic region to play through, and if you are looking for an easy shiny, it really doesn't get better than the red Gyarados.

Next: Pokemon: How To Breed Shiny Pokemon With The Masuda Method